Not-So-Boring Life Management

Not everyone can live an adventure like they do in novels and manga. Perhaps you are stuck in a 9-5 job or the school-cram school-club activity-homework cycle. Ever wonder how to live a less boring life?

In general, a boring life refers to not doing anything useful and living for the benefit of others, rather than for personal pleasure. To make our lives enjoyable, we need to do things that are both useful and pleasant. But what if a productive life is too mechanical for you? Leave the outdated idea of productivity behind! You can keep your life interesting instead by making it meaningful. Here are three tips for managing your life sensibly so that you can have a more meaningful life.

Would you like to have a not-so-boring life like I do? If so, do not forget to like ❤️👍 this post and subscribe 🔔 as this will help the channel grow! Also, feel free to share this link with anyone struggling with self management! ✍️

With that being said, let's get right into the tips.

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Get to Know Your Non-Negotiables

What are non-negotiables? They refer to things you would like to have, without doubt, without any fear, must-haves in your life (Mathis, 2014). For me, my non-negotiables are divided into two, my extrovert non-negotiables and my introvert non-negotiables.

My extrovert non-negotiables social mind loves hanging out with people and travel to places. Before pandemic, I emphasized my time more on hanging out, eating out, and traveling. Because what I did was my non-negotiables, I was not wasting time. I was happy.

My introvert non-negotiables nerd soul loves books and studying. During and after the pandemic, this side of me is nurtured more, so I spend more time at home and burying myself in courses and lessons: theologia, andragogy, linguistic... You name it. I do make time for hanging out, eating out, and traveling, but they are not my priority anymore. For example, I hang out in monthly mingle event for networking, not only to randomly hang out and do gossip chit-chat with friends. Regularly, I will make time to eat out with my husband and family, but I make sure the time I enjoy happily with them does not cut my main priority or my current non-negotiables: my precious reading or studying time.

What about you? What is your priority? What are your non-negotiables? List at least three non-negotiables to filter out what makes your life meaningful and what is not!

Maintain Habit Loop

One habit loop lasts for one week. One habit is formed after 21 days, so it requires you to get at least three successful loops (TedxTalks, 2022b). If you somehow fail one loop, make sure you continue with the next one. If you fail these first loop chains, at least make sure you do not let the feeling of failure break the entire chain (TedxTalks, 2022a). Shush the conscience that keeps blaming that one failure and move on. Once habit loop is formed, you can create an autohabit that will protect your non-negotiables. You can check my other article for a more detailed process on how to reach this habit loop effortlessly here!

Make sure you put your non-negotiables as reward, and work backwards to determine the cue. What can remind you of what is important in your life? You know you best! Figure out what cue that will stimulates your craving most (Allen, 2015). Then, you will automatically respond to it. For example, one of my non-negotiables is studying, so I put shortcuts to my study website or apps on my desktop, iPad, and phone. I archive or erase the other icons so they do not distract me when I reach out to my gadget to study.

Throw Them in Automatic Reminder

Brain is to make ideas, not to save ideas (Allen, 2015). Since we live in a world with automatic reminders available for free, we can use them to benefit ourselves and make our lives easier. Currently, I use ToDoist and Google Calendar to remind me.

One way to easily effectively use your Google Calendar is to color-coded it. You can use simple color coding if you are straightforward person: red for non-negotiables, yellow for urgent tasks such as work, school project, and study deadline, while green is for relax time with loved ones. Or, if you are into asthetically-pleasing style, you can use color hex to rearrange your calendar colors in sync. It takes longer to arrange, but it will not pain your eyes afterwards. You can make your own color palette like this from Coolors for free!

After you prioritize your non-negotiables, create and maintain habit loops to sustain them, and put a friendly, easy-to-look-at reminder which is accessible through all of your devices, you can have a not-so-boring life at hand! Having an organized life is not a prison; it gives you meaning and purpose to your life, and it enables you to see the time needed to make it happen. So, why not give it a try?

Hope this helps! ❤️👍

References:

Allen, D. (2015). Getting Things Done. Penguin.

TedxTalks. (2022a, April 12). The power of habit | Jude Aburdan | TEDxSafirSchool. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8nPv7Alrw4

TedxTalks. (2022b, April 13). How long does it take to change your life? | Nwal Hadaki | TEDxSafirSchool. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g85WsxE1gAU

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